EP2761709A1 - System und verfahren für hochpräzise gasnachfüllung in einem zweikammern-gasentladungslasersystem - Google Patents
System und verfahren für hochpräzise gasnachfüllung in einem zweikammern-gasentladungslasersystemInfo
- Publication number
- EP2761709A1 EP2761709A1 EP12835486.7A EP12835486A EP2761709A1 EP 2761709 A1 EP2761709 A1 EP 2761709A1 EP 12835486 A EP12835486 A EP 12835486A EP 2761709 A1 EP2761709 A1 EP 2761709A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- chamber
- gas
- inject
- laser
- halogen
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 55
- 229910052736 halogen Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 100
- 150000002367 halogens Chemical class 0.000 claims abstract description 100
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 16
- 238000013178 mathematical model Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 229910052731 fluorine Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 97
- 239000011737 fluorine Substances 0.000 claims description 96
- 230000009977 dual effect Effects 0.000 claims description 23
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- PXGOKWXKJXAPGV-UHFFFAOYSA-N Fluorine Chemical compound FF PXGOKWXKJXAPGV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 124
- YCKRFDGAMUMZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-N Fluorine atom Chemical compound [F] YCKRFDGAMUMZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 94
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 24
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 11
- 238000010304 firing Methods 0.000 description 10
- 101100456571 Mus musculus Med12 gene Proteins 0.000 description 9
- XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Argon Chemical compound [Ar] XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 8
- 229910052786 argon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 4
- 235000012431 wafers Nutrition 0.000 description 4
- 238000004364 calculation method Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 3
- 229910052754 neon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- GKAOGPIIYCISHV-UHFFFAOYSA-N neon atom Chemical compound [Ne] GKAOGPIIYCISHV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000003595 spectral effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000001052 transient effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000002596 correlated effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 150000002500 ions Chemical class 0.000 description 2
- 238000001459 lithography Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000000206 photolithography Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000012935 Averaging Methods 0.000 description 1
- ZAMOUSCENKQFHK-UHFFFAOYSA-N Chlorine atom Chemical compound [Cl] ZAMOUSCENKQFHK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 101100286668 Mus musculus Irak1bp1 gene Proteins 0.000 description 1
- KWYHDKDOAIKMQN-UHFFFAOYSA-N N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine Chemical compound CN(C)CCN(C)C KWYHDKDOAIKMQN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 241000435574 Popa Species 0.000 description 1
- 239000000654 additive Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000000996 additive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003321 amplification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003990 capacitor Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052801 chlorine Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000000460 chlorine Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000006835 compression Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007906 compression Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012937 correction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000013480 data collection Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000013499 data model Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010790 dilution Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012895 dilution Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- -1 fluorine Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 150000004820 halides Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- ZKVLEFBKBNUQHK-UHFFFAOYSA-N helium;molecular nitrogen;molecular oxygen Chemical compound [He].N#N.O=O ZKVLEFBKBNUQHK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000008240 homogeneous mixture Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052743 krypton Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- DNNSSWSSYDEUBZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N krypton atom Chemical compound [Kr] DNNSSWSSYDEUBZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000004377 microelectronic Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052756 noble gas Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000003199 nucleic acid amplification method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007670 refining Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000001228 spectrum Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000638 stimulation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052724 xenon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- FHNFHKCVQCLJFQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N xenon atom Chemical compound [Xe] FHNFHKCVQCLJFQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
- H01S3/23—Arrangements of two or more lasers not provided for in groups H01S3/02 - H01S3/22, e.g. tandem arrangements of separate active media
- H01S3/2366—Arrangements of two or more lasers not provided for in groups H01S3/02 - H01S3/22, e.g. tandem arrangements of separate active media comprising a gas as the active medium
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
- H01S3/0014—Monitoring arrangements not otherwise provided for
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
- H01S3/02—Constructional details
- H01S3/03—Constructional details of gas laser discharge tubes
- H01S3/036—Means for obtaining or maintaining the desired gas pressure within the tube, e.g. by gettering, replenishing; Means for circulating the gas, e.g. for equalising the pressure within the tube
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
- H01S3/14—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range characterised by the material used as the active medium
- H01S3/22—Gases
- H01S3/223—Gases the active gas being polyatomic, i.e. containing two or more atoms
- H01S3/225—Gases the active gas being polyatomic, i.e. containing two or more atoms comprising an excimer or exciplex
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
- H01S3/23—Arrangements of two or more lasers not provided for in groups H01S3/02 - H01S3/22, e.g. tandem arrangements of separate active media
- H01S3/2308—Amplifier arrangements, e.g. MOPA
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to laser systems. More
- the invention relates to performing injects of reactive gas into the chambers of a gas discharge laser, such as a two chamber Master Osciliator- Power Amplifier excimer laser.
- a gas discharge laser such as a two chamber Master Osciliator- Power Amplifier excimer laser.
- An excimer laser typically uses a combination of a noble: gas, such as argon, krypton, or xenon, and a reactive halogen gas such as fluorine or chlorine.
- a noble gas such as argon, krypton, or xenon
- a reactive halogen gas such as fluorine or chlorine.
- the excimer laser derives its name from the fact that under the appropriate conditions of electrical stimulation and high pressure, a pseudo- molecule cal led an excimer (or in the case of noble gas halides, an exciplex) is created, which can only exist in an energized state and can give rise to laser light in the ultraviolet range.
- CC J Excimer lasers are widely used in high-resolution photolithography machines, and are thus one of the critical technologies required for
- DUV deep ultraviolet
- Such dual-gas-discharge-charnber excimer lasers are often called Master Oscillator-Power Amplifier, or "MOP A/' lasers.
- MOP A/' lasers In addition to improving the spectral bandwidth and pulse energy, the efficiency of the dual chamber architecture can enable the consumable modules in MOPA lasers to reach longer operational lifetimes than their counterpart modules in single chamber light sources.
- the light source discharges energy across i s electrodes to produce light
- the halogen gas, fluorine in the case of ArF or KrF lasers is depleted. This causes a decrease in the laser efficienc which is seen,, for example, as an increase in discharge voltage required to create a given desired pulse energy. Since the discharge voltage has an upper limit determined by physical constraints of the hardware, steps must be taken to replenish the lost fluorine so that the voltage remains belo this limit and the laser continues to function properly.
- a more accurate inject would allow the laser to operate for a longer period: of time before another refill and/or inject .must be performed. Further, an accurate inject provides a better basis o which to base the calculation of
- a mathematical model relates the amount of halogen gas in the laser chamber after an inject to the amount of halogen gas present prior -to the inject, the amount of halogen gas injected, and the consumption rate of. halogen gas in. the chamber,
- a fixed amount of halogen gas is added to the chamber in an initial number of injects to allow transients- to settle out after which the amount of halogen gas to be injected is that calculated to resi in a desired amount of halogen gas after the inject according to the model- Measurements are taken.
- a dual chamber gas discharge laser light source comprising a master oscillator and an amplifier, each of the master oscillator and amplifier having a laser chamber containing a lasing medium gas comprising a halogen, and a gas replenishment system including a controller executing a replenishment scheme at regular intervals, the replenishment scheme comprising; modeling the amount of halogen gas In the chamber after an inject opportunity based upon the amount of halogen gas in the chamber before the inject opportunity and the amount of halogen gas added to the chambe during the inject opportunity; after a first number of inject opportunities, measuring a parameter of the laser light source to estimate the amoun of halogen gas in the chamber after the inject opportunity and updating the mathematical model based upon the measurement of the parameter; for a second number of inject opportunities larger than the first number, Injecting into the selected laser chamber at each inject opportunity a fixed quantit ' of a non-halogen containing gas and a fixed quantity of the halogen, containing gas; and after
- a method of replenishing gas in a dual chamber gas discharge laser light source having a master oscillator and an amplifier comprising the steps of; selecting a plurality of inject opportunities occurring at regular intervals; modeling the amount of halogen gas in the chamber after an inject opportunity based upon the amount of halogen gas in.
- Still another embodiment discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a processor to perform a method of automatically replenishing the gas in a laser chamber of a dual chamber gas discharge laser light source having a master oscillator and an amplifier, each of the master oscillator and amplifier having a laser chamber containing a lasing medium gas comprising a halogen, the method comprising the steps of: selecting a plurality of inject opportunities occurring at regular intervals; modeling the amount of halogen gas in the chamber after an inject opportunity based upon the amount of halogen gas in the chamber before the inject opportunity and lite amount of halogen gas added to the chamber during the inject opportunity; after a first number of inject opportunities, measuring a parameter of the laser light source to estimate the amount of halogen gas i the chamber after the inject opportunity and updatin the mathematical model based upon the measurement of the parameter; for a second number of inject opportunities larger than the first number, injecting into the selected laser chamber a each
- FIG. 1 shows a simplified block diagram of a gas replenishment system 100 for a dual chamber gas laser, such as a MOPA exeirner laser., according to one embodiment.
- Figure 2 shows a single inject for replenishing the gas in a chamber of a dual chamber gas laser, such as a MOPA excimer laser, as may be done in both the prior art and one embodiment herein.
- a dual chamber gas laser such as a MOPA excimer laser
- Figure 3 shows a series of injects for replenishing the gas in a chamber of a dual chamber gas laser, such as a MOPA excimer laser, for illustrating a model for determining the expected amount of fluorine in the chamber in one embodiment.
- a dual chamber gas laser such as a MOPA excimer laser
- Figure 4 is an illustration of the expected growth in uncertainty in the value of fluorine predicted by the model over the first injects in the absence of any updated data, and the subsequent reduction in that uncertainty as collected data is used to update tire model over the subsequent M-N injects.
- Figure 5 shows two injects for replenishing the gas in a chamber of a dual chamber gas laser, such as a MOPA exdmer laser, for illustrating a mode! for determining the expected amount of fluorine in die chamber in another embodiment.
- Figure 6 is a simplified flow chart illustrating steps in a method, of determining the amount of fluorine to be added during an inject to a chamber of a dual chamber gas laser, such as a MOPA exdmer laser, according t one embodiment.
- the present application describes a method and system for ' automatically performing injects of halogen gas into one or both chambers of a two chamber gas discharge laser such as a MOPA exdmer laser for the purpose of regulating the halogen gas concentration with greater accuracy tha previously done.
- Control of the inject process is based upon a. model that uses one or more of several available signals and parameters of the laser operation to calculate the amount of haloge gas to be added to the desired ehamber(s) by taking into account the amount of halogen gas present at prior times, the rate of consumption of halogen gas in the chamber, the pressure in the chamber before the inject, and the desired pressure after the inject.
- Several of these parameters are measured at regular intervals and the model is updated based upon such measurements.
- FIG. 1 A simplified block diagram of a gas replenishment system 100 for a dual chamber gas laser, such as a MOPA exeimer laser, is shown in Figure 1.
- the MOPA exeimer laser has a .master oscillator 102 containing a laser chamber, and a power amplifier 10 also containing a laser chamber. I -operation, the -master oscillator 102 produces a first laser beam. 106 which is passed to the power amplifier 104 where it is amplified, to produce an amplified laser beam 108 which is output to a scanner machine (not shown) for use in lithography.
- Each laser chamber contains a mixture of gases for example, in a given exeimer laser each laser chamber might contain a halogen,; e.g., fluorine, along with other gases such argon, neon, (commonly known as rare gases) and possibly others in different partial pressures that add up to a total pressure P.
- a halogen e.g., fluorine
- other gases such as argon, neon, (commonly known as rare gases) and possibly others in different partial pressures that add up to a total pressure P.
- the halogen gas is hereafter described, as fluorine, although the principles described herein may be applied to other halogen gases as well.
- Gas bottles 110 and 112 are connected to the master oscillator 102 and power amplifier 104 through valves 114 to allow for replenishment of the gas in the laser chambers when desired.
- Gas bottle 10 typically might contain a mixture , of gases including fluorine, argon and neon, known as- an "Ml mix/' "tri-mix,” or often simpl "fluorine," while gas bottle 112- might -contain a mixture of argon, neon and/or other gases, but no fluorine, known as an "M2 mix ' "bi-mix/' o "rare gas.”
- a controller 116 such as a processor or logic- circuit, operates the valves.114- to transfer gases from bottles 11.0 and 112 into the laser chambers of the .master oscillator 102 and power amplifier 104 based upon certain data as described further herein,
- valves 114 typically include two valves for each laser chamber, an "injection” valve that allows gas to pass into and out of each chamber at a first rate, and a “chamber fill” valve that allows gas to pass into and out of each chamber at a second, and faster, rate, in addition, the laser chambers in the master oscillator 102 and power amplifier 104 contain blowers for mixing the gases that are in the chambers so that a homogenous mixture is- maintained during operation. The blowers also add heat to the gas.
- fluorine is consumed during operation of the laser.
- the resulting decrease in fluorine concentration typically causes a rise in the discharge voltage required to produce a laser pulse.
- changes in fluorine concentration also affect the delay time ("dtMOPA") between the electrical discharges that cause production of the first laser beam 106 and the amplified laser beam 108,
- the fluorine concentra ion must be replenished to keep the laser operating, within desired parameters. Further, a satisfactory concentration of fluorine must be maintained while keeping the gas content in each laser chamber at a fixed pressure. Again, this is sometimes done by injects, i.e., partial replenishment of the gas in the chamber, rather than a full refill in which the chamber is purged and the gas completely replaced,
- injects are typically done at fixed intervals, determined either by elapsed time between injects, or by the number of "shots/' i.e., pulses of the laser, that have been generated.
- injects are done in each chamber after approximately every 1 million . pulses by that chamber.
- the injects to the laser chambers are staggered, so that while each chamber receives an inject after about each million pulses.
- the power amplifier 104 receives an inject approximately 500,000 pulses after the master oscillator 102 recei ves an inject, and vice versa. Such timin of injects is.
- an inject is intended mainly to replace the amount of fluorine tha has been consumed since the last refill or inject. Since i is mostly the fluorine tha is consumed during operation, it is known in the prior art that injects to the laser chambers in both the master oscillator and power amplifier will include a fixed amount of the M2 mix, which contains no fluorine,, and a amount of Ml mix containing enough fluorine to raise the concentration of fluorine in the chamber back to a desired level, thus replacing the fluorine which has been consumed,
- Figure 2 illustrates a typ cal single inject as may be done in both the prior art and the methods and systems described herein.
- An inject may be performed in the laser chamber of the master oscillato or the power amplifier, or in both daambers. As above, if injects are done to both chambers, one is typically done after the other rather than simultaneously.
- the chamber in which fluorine is being replenished is initially at a target pressure FT.
- An. amount of fluorine is added to the chamber; as above, this is actuall done by adding an amount of Ml mix, designated as ⁇ , to the chamber, of which the fluorine is a part.
- ⁇ increases the chamber pressure as shown.
- an amount of M2 mix is added to the chamber, as shown by ARG, increasing the pressure in the chamber further.
- the amount of ARG remains the same tor all injects, and only the amount of the Ml inject ⁇ is varied.
- the Ml mix will be referred to simply as fluorine, or F, and the M2 mix as RG (for "rare gas").
- the desired amount of Ml mix tha t is to be added, AF, is that which will result in a desired concentration of fluorine in the chamber, given the fluorine remaining in the chamber before the inject and the subsequent dilution by the additional M2 mix ARG.
- the now mixed gas is bled from the chamber to reduce the pressure, typically back to the target pressure FT, without altering the fluorine concentration, (Note that in some embodiments, the value of Pr after the inject need not be identical to the pressure before the inject, although here it is. assumed that it is the same.)
- the injects to the master oscillator have been calculated solely or primarily from dtMOPA, while the injects to the power amplifier have been calculated from the energy output of the master oscillator and the discharge voltage, or some other parameter used as a substitute for the consumed fluorine,
- the present application seeks to provide an improved model for determining the amount of fluorine to be added to a chamber during an inject.
- the model Incorporates data regarding the dynamic change of gas concentrations as the laser operates, and the correlation of the measured data with gas concentrations, to yield improved estimates of fluorine consumption rate and fluorine partial pressure.
- the method described herein also provides for updating the model before each inject if appropriate data about the actual amount of fluorine present and/or an updated rate of consumption can be obtained.
- Figure 3 illustrates a series of injects for use in understanding the method described herein for calculating the desired amount of f luorine to be injected according to one embodiment.
- the horizontal axis refers to both shots and time, although as above the intervals between injects are typically evenly separated by the number of shots fired, and not necessarily by elapsed clock time,
- firing shots i.e., laser pulses that may be used t process semiconductor wafers. Injects will normally begin after a specified period of operation as shown in Figure 3, stating with inject 1, and the injects numbered sequentially continuing with 2, and (after a period not shown) N-i, N, etc.
- the injects typically occur periodically, for example, after ever million shots fired by the laser in operation. Normal processing of wafers may occur as the shots are fired during and between injects.
- the model is to be updated, but if is desirable to update only with useful or "good ' data. For example, when the laser begins or resumes operating after a refill or a long pause during which pulses are not generated, there will be a period in which transient effects occur, and any data obtained, during such a period may not reflect a desired operating condition of the laser. To avoid creating errors in subsequent injects, it is thus desirable to allow the laser to operate for some period of time so that such transient effects will die out and the laser operates in a steady state before attempting to employ any type of data collection or model updating.
- An allowance for transients may be made in several ways. First, there may be a "hoidoff" period 301 of some number of shots during which the laser is operated and no injects are done until inject 1 occurs, as shown in Figure 3. (In some cases this period may be adjusted by the user, and can be set to 0 if desired, so that injects are done from the beginning of laser operation, ⁇
- the size of the injects is fixed, i.e., a fixed amount of the Ml mix, ⁇ , is added,, in each of these injects.
- An appropriate size ⁇ for this period may be based on the historical operational data of the laser, as will be understood by one of skill in the art.
- the amount of fluorine Fi (at the point labeled Fi on Figure 3) will be based upon the value of Fo, the added fluorine ⁇ . ⁇ and non- fluorine gas AR ' G, and the consumption of fluorine during the elapsed time.
- the model .described herein seeks to improve the accuracy of injects by., i ter alia,, improving the estimates of the rate of con sumption of fluorine.
- the rate of consumption of fluorine due to shots of the laser is defined as ⁇ (' ' for firing) and the rate of consumption due to the passage of time is defined as c m ("nf" for non-firing),
- each rate of consumption is multiplied by the amount of shots or time respectively that has passed since the refill
- a measure of elapsed shots Tiwm.i is defined as the numbe of shots fired since the refill and used with o>t to determine the consumption of fluorine due to the firing of the laser
- a measure of elapsed time immi is defined as the dock, time since the refill and used with w»* to determine the ⁇ consumption of fluorine due to time.
- both shots and time are shown on the horizontal axis of Figure 3, and so T EHU and tenx are shown at the same point on Figure 3, Le the end of inject 1.
- the caicuiated value of Fi is really an estimate of the actual value, based on. the estimated value of Fc ⁇ and the estimates of the consumption rates t and ⁇ , ⁇ .
- the initial estimates of consumption rates are derived from historical data and engineering tests using external fluorine sensors.
- the model starts with the calculated value of Fi as described above, and Ts. and h represent the number of shots fired and elapsed time respectively from the end of the first inject to the end of the second inject, rather than from, the refill.
- the chamber pressure FT is the same before and after the second inject; as above, in other embodiments these values may be different.
- the values of AV and AEG remain the same during die period of M fixed injects,
- J should be great enough to allow the mode! to recon verge on the normal operating condition of the laser; in some circumstances it is believed that a value for 1 as low as 30 injects may suffice.
- V is selected and measured.
- V when considering injects to the power amplifier chamber, V may be the discharge voltage, while in the case of the master oscillator chamber V may be die delay time ("dtMOPA") between an electrical discharge in the master oscillator chamber that creates a laser shot and the subsequent electrical discharge ' in the. power amplifier chamber that amplifies the shot.
- dtMOPA die delay time
- V may be some other measurement such, as bandwidth, which may be measured by the integral of a certain percentage of the energy contained on either side of a center wavelength of a spectrum centered on the center wavelength.
- bandwidth One bandwidth measure used in other contexts is the Integral of 95% of the energy is common and is known as E95% or simply E95.
- Another parameter used elsewhere is the common voltage applied to both chambers, for example, at the peaking capacitor of a compression head of a solid state pulsed power system (SSPPM) for each chamber, and the energy output of one of the chambers. For the master oscillator chamber this is designated as ⁇ »
- SSPPM solid state pulsed power system
- V in general will be related to the amount of ' fluorine FK after an inject by the equation: V k h 3 ⁇ 4) + O CZ REFILi) + 0k. (3) where TSJNCE RSHU is the total number of shots since the refill, regardless of the number of injects that ha e occu red, 3 ⁇ 4 is the component of the measurement that is not correlated with the fluorine amount and is an appropriate constant.
- TSJNCE RSHU is the total number of shots since the refill, regardless of the number of injects that ha e occu red
- 3 ⁇ 4 is the component of the measurement that is not correlated with the fluorine amount and is an appropriate constant.
- V The measurement of V will typically be done at the end of an inject. Once the inject is over, the model is run again for the inject that has just occurred now, however, the actual size of the inject, i.e., AF and &RG, is known, as are the actual number of shots fired T and elapsed time t Based on historical data, the measured parameter V may thus he correlated to the actual amount of fluorine F present, and the firing consumption rates w, so that the values of these in the model may be updated to more accurately reflect the current conditions- in the chamber.
- the measured parameter V may thus he correlated to the actual amount of fluorine F present, and the firing consumption rates w, so that the values of these in the model may be updated to more accurately reflect the current conditions- in the chamber.
- the model including updating the value of FK can be written as a state equation using matrices as:
- a value i3 ⁇ 4 is defined as:
- the term “run model” means to calculate a value of Fk for a particular inject k during the initial j injects and thereafter to calculate a value of AF that will result in a desired FT
- the term “update model” means to use the collected data to. get a better estimate of an actual value of F, o be compared to the value estimated by the model, or of t
- FIG. 5 illustrates two. injects J and J+l.
- all injects before inject j include fixed amounts of fluorine.
- At the. end of inject J there is an amount of fluorine FM in the chamber, the value of which becomes the fluorine target FT, Using the model above,- it is possible to calculate a value for AF that should result in the value Fsa+i after the next inject being equal to the target FT.
- Figure 6 is a sim lified flow char illustratin steps in a method. 500 of determining the amount of fluorine to be added to a chamber of the laser during an inject as described herein. At. step 601,. the time to perform an inject as determined. As above, this is known in the prior art, and is typically done after a predetermined number of shots of the laser.
- step 602 it is determined whether J injects have already occurred. If J injects have not already occurred, a fixed amount of fluorine ⁇ is injected at. step 603. If J injects have already occurred., then the model described herein is run at step 604 prior to the curre inject to determine the amount of fluorine ⁇ that should be injectecl into the chamber., and the determined amount of fluorine is injected into the chamber at step 605. [0076] Once an inject has occurred, whether fixed or computed, data is obtained by measuring a desired parameter V at step 606 as previously described. At step 607, it is determined whether the obtained data is good and may be used to update tfcemodel, If the data is not considered to be good, it is not used. Mote that as above, it is presumed that the data is not good, and thus not used, for the first injects. There may be other reasons that the data is not good, as described below.
- the model s updated at ste 608; as above, in one embodiment this includes running the mode! after the inject so that the obtained data can be compared to the prediction from the model, Whether the model is updated or not, the process then returns to step 601 to await a determination of the time for the next inject,
- T is not greater than TMIN, then the number of shots is checked again after the defined period of time; in one embodiment, the shot counter checks every 30 seconds;
- TMIN is approximately 30 to 50 thousand shots; this is expected to be a sufficiently large number to allow averaging data filters, which receive pulse to pulse data and are typically sampled every 30 seconds, to catch up.
- the data is considered bad because the laser is not firing at a fast enough rate, and noise is likely to result in any measurements.
- the data is considered bad if it takes more than a few minutes to reach T&HN shots.
- the model is run without updated data to determine the desired amount of fluorine to be added in the next inject. After the next inject, the counter is reset and the process repeats. If good data is obtained, the model is updated.
- the preferred embodiment is a master oscillator-power amplifier multi-chambered exdmer or molecular fluorine gas discharge laser system (“ OPA”)
- OPA molecular fluorine gas discharge laser system
- the system may also be configured to have other ' oscil!atox/aroplifie configurations, such as a master oscillator-power oscillator MOPQ"), a power oscillator-power amplifier (“POPA”) or a power oscillator-power oscillator f OP ' G”)
- the described method and apparatus can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, or a system.
- The- methods described herein may be implemented by program instructions for instructing a processor to perform such methods, and such instructions recorded on a. computer readable storage medium such as a hard disk drive, floppy disk, optical disc such as a compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), flash memory, etc.
- the methods may also be incorporated into hard-wired, logic if desired. It should be noted that the order of the steps of the methods described herein may be altered and still be within the scope of the disclosure.
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US13/251,181 US8681832B2 (en) | 2011-09-30 | 2011-09-30 | System and method for high accuracy gas inject in a two chamber gas discharge laser system |
PCT/US2012/052722 WO2013048657A1 (en) | 2011-09-30 | 2012-08-28 | System and method for high accuracy gas inject in a two chamber gas discharge laser system |
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EP2761709A1 true EP2761709A1 (de) | 2014-08-06 |
EP2761709A4 EP2761709A4 (de) | 2015-07-22 |
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EP12835486.7A Active EP2761709B1 (de) | 2011-09-30 | 2012-08-28 | System und verfahren für hochpräzise gasnachfüllung in einem zweikammern-gasentladungslasersystem |
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US (1) | US8681832B2 (de) |
EP (1) | EP2761709B1 (de) |
JP (1) | JP5972384B2 (de) |
KR (1) | KR101942326B1 (de) |
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WO (1) | WO2013048657A1 (de) |
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WO2015068205A1 (ja) * | 2013-11-05 | 2015-05-14 | ギガフォトン株式会社 | レーザ装置及び非一過性のコンピュータ読み取り可能な記録媒体 |
US9356414B2 (en) * | 2013-12-31 | 2016-05-31 | Teledyne Instruments, Inc. | Method and system for performing automatic gas refills for a gas laser |
CN103730829B (zh) * | 2014-01-03 | 2016-09-28 | 中国航空工业集团公司北京航空制造工程研究所 | 一种自动控制本振脉冲输出时间的方法及激光器 |
US9130337B1 (en) * | 2014-09-10 | 2015-09-08 | Cymer, Llc | System and method for automatic gas optimization in a two-chamber gas discharge laser system |
CN113783101B (zh) * | 2021-07-28 | 2024-02-02 | 北京科益虹源光电技术有限公司 | 一种用于双腔准分子激光器的能量控制方法及装置 |
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US4977573A (en) * | 1989-03-09 | 1990-12-11 | Questek, Inc. | Excimer laser output control device |
CA2198715C (en) * | 1994-08-31 | 2004-03-09 | Richard L. Sandstrom | Gas replenishment method and apparatus for excimer lasers |
JP3864287B2 (ja) * | 1996-03-14 | 2006-12-27 | 株式会社小松製作所 | レーザ装置 |
US5978406A (en) | 1998-01-30 | 1999-11-02 | Cymer, Inc. | Fluorine control system for excimer lasers |
US6965624B2 (en) * | 1999-03-17 | 2005-11-15 | Lambda Physik Ag | Laser gas replenishment method |
US6865210B2 (en) | 2001-05-03 | 2005-03-08 | Cymer, Inc. | Timing control for two-chamber gas discharge laser system |
US6690704B2 (en) | 2001-04-09 | 2004-02-10 | Cymer, Inc. | Control system for a two chamber gas discharge laser |
US7830934B2 (en) | 2001-08-29 | 2010-11-09 | Cymer, Inc. | Multi-chamber gas discharge laser bandwidth control through discharge timing |
US6963595B2 (en) * | 2001-08-29 | 2005-11-08 | Cymer, Inc. | Automatic gas control system for a gas discharge laser |
US7741639B2 (en) * | 2003-01-31 | 2010-06-22 | Cymer, Inc. | Multi-chambered excimer or molecular fluorine gas discharge laser fluorine injection control |
US7209507B2 (en) * | 2003-07-30 | 2007-04-24 | Cymer, Inc. | Method and apparatus for controlling the output of a gas discharge MOPA laser system |
US7277464B2 (en) | 2003-12-18 | 2007-10-02 | Cymer, Inc. | Method and apparatus for controlling the output of a gas discharge laser system |
JP4721646B2 (ja) * | 2004-03-08 | 2011-07-13 | 株式会社小松製作所 | 高精度同期制御機能を備えた2ステージレーザ装置 |
US7835414B2 (en) * | 2007-02-26 | 2010-11-16 | Cymer, Inc. | Laser gas injection system |
US7659529B2 (en) * | 2007-04-13 | 2010-02-09 | Cymer, Inc. | Method and apparatus for vibration reduction in laser system line narrowing unit wavelength selection optical element |
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US8681832B2 (en) | 2014-03-25 |
KR101942326B1 (ko) | 2019-01-25 |
JP5972384B2 (ja) | 2016-08-17 |
KR20140073555A (ko) | 2014-06-16 |
TWI552465B (zh) | 2016-10-01 |
US20130083818A1 (en) | 2013-04-04 |
WO2013048657A1 (en) | 2013-04-04 |
EP2761709A4 (de) | 2015-07-22 |
EP2761709B1 (de) | 2016-04-20 |
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